Sideswipe: April 26: Hyper-real airport sculpture

A sculpture called 'The Traveller' in Orlando International Airport.

A generation of quiet quitters

A reader writes: “Somebody older I know asked me why young people are ‘quiet quitting’ their jobs and not trying to work hard. I told them that quiet quitting is a bulls**t term that describes doing what was outlined in your contract, and not more. He started to tell me how you need to hustle and do more than the minimum if you want to succeed. I told him that the difference compared to many years ago is that now, hard work is not met with commensurate rewards or opportunities. Then I asked him the following question: if it is culturally acceptable to push people to go above and beyond what is outlined in their contract, why does the company always only pay what was agreed upon? Why doesn’t payroll ever go above and beyond what was agreed? Shouldn’t it also be culturally acceptable to expect extra salary in this case? Aren’t my company ‘quiet paying’ me?”

Design is important

Design is important.

Did you know...

1. The most valuable object to sink with the Titanic was a colossal neo-classical painting. The artwork was La Circassienne au Bain, completed in 1814 by Merry-Joseph Blondel — the surviving owner filed a claim for US$3 million (in 2023 dollars).

2. The World Toe Wrestling Championships originated in the Staffordshire village of Wetton in the 1970s. Similar to arm wrestling, each match sets two opponents against one other. Also, before the match, participants must undergo a thorough toe check-up by a licenced nurse.

3. Last week, a 50-year-old Spanish athlete finished a 500-day stay in an underground cave, a scientific study on social isolation. When the team came to retrieve her, she wasn’t ready: “I said, ‘Already? Surely not’. I hadn’t finished my book.”

4. Part of Rupert Murdoch’s divorce settlement with Jerry Hall states that she is not allowed to give plot ideas to the writers of Succession.